St. Paul’s new parking ban on the even-numbered side of residential streets led to a lot of grumbling and some confusion, but apparently no tows by Monday evening.

As of 5 p.m., clerks at the city’s snow lot near the State Fairgrounds and at the main lot on Barge Channel Road said their lots had yet to receive a car towed because of the ban.

But that will likely change over the next few days.

Mayor Chris Coleman announced the restrictions Friday, and on Saturday, the fire department began placing warning fliers on cars parked on the wrong side of the road. Towing was expected to begin at 8 a.m. Monday morning

Kari Spreeman, a public works department spokeswoman, said that unlike a typical snow emergency, the city will approach the parking ban by easing into towing in the days ahead, rather than doing an immediate full-court press.

She said the public works department will be responsible for tagging cars, not the police department.

The reprieve should give residents more time to become familiar with rules of the ban.

Heavy snow with little thaw has narrowed streets, and plows are running out of room to dump the snow.

Like St. Paul, Minneapolis approached towing gingerly last month after declaring one-side parking restrictions to give fire trucks and other emergency vehicles more room.

Minneapolis did not tow Feb. 23, the first day of its restrictions and a Sunday. “We wanted to give people a chance to spread the word,” said city spokesman Matthew Laible.

On Feb. 24, Minneapolis towed 22 cars for violating the ban. So far, Laible said, 114 cars have been towed.

Both cities expect to keep the rules in place until April 1, or whenever the snows melt.

In St. Paul, school bus drivers, public safety officials and others who see the benefit of wider streets have supported the new restrictions. But opponents have blamed poor street plowing and said they would contact their city council member.

Other than snow emergencies, St. Paul has never instituted a citywide parking ban before.

“This is the most misguided decision I have ever seen the city make,” Highland Park resident Catherine Leimbach wrote in an online message at the e-democracy.org forums. “Highland wasn’t that bad to begin with, mostly rutted because plowing was so ineffective.”

“I can see banning parking for two days while the city comes in and actually plows curb to curb,” she said. “However, this current plan is for the birds — and certainly not for the residents.”

Residents continued to express confusion about certain particulars, such as what to do if the city declares another snow emergency. In that event, said Spreeman, the current ban would be suspended and normal snow emergency restrictions would apply.

In St. Paul, tickets will be $56. It costs an additional $219.50 to get a car released from an impound lot before midnight, with $15 storage fees added daily.

The ban does not apply to residential streets where parking is already banned on one side.

An interactive map detailing where not to park is online at stpaul.gov/snow, and information is also available by calling 651-266-PLOW.

Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report. Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.

Frederick Melo came to the Pioneer Press in 2005 and brings an aggressive East Coast attitude to St. Paul beat reporting. He spent nearly six years covering crime in the Dakota County courts before switching focus to the St. Paul mayor's office, city council, and all things neighborhood-related, from the city's churches to its parks and light rail. A resident of Hamline-Midway, he is married to a Frogtown woman. He Tweets manically at @FrederickMelo

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